Bedford Row Family Project

Burren Marathon

admin_larry — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:00:24 +0000

A special ‘go raibh maith agat’ to the fittest man in Bedford Row; Declan Higgins, who is going to run a Marathon through the beautiful Burrren (on 26 May 2012) to raise funds.

The sponsorship cards are works of art in themselves – you’d nearly give a fiver just to have your name on one!

It is up to all of us now to ‘row’ in behind Deco and raise as much as we can for Bedford Row. Get in contact by dropping us an email at info@bedfordrow.ie or ring us at 061 315332, or get in contact through Facebook or Twitter…..

Friends of Bedford Row

admin_larry — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:53:14 +0000

We have had two meetings of Friends of Bedford Row since 2012 began. Loads of ideas were proposed for fundraising ventures. People who did not know a lot about the Project met others who did so there was a great exchange of information. Watch this space for more news and if you want to lend a hand send us an email or ring 061 315332 or 086 8939766 …….

Students arriving in Bedford Row

admin_larry — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:33:26 +0000

A big Céad Míle Fáilte to our three LIT Students Maeve, Mags,and Josephine who arrived for a 14 week placement last week. We hope that they enjoy their stay in Bedford Row and that they learn loads! Students always offer us a fresh perspective and also make an invaluable contribution to the day-to-day work in the Project.

Another Year A New Challenge

admin_larry — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:41:57 +0000

We wish all who are passionate about wanting to make our communities safer places a Happy New Year! 2011 was a very challenging year for Bedford Row and we are sure that 2012 will be no different. The good will shown to the Project at the Christmas Cake Fair was very good for our morale – so we look to the future with hope and confidence.

Final Note

admin_larry — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:51:54 +0000

Bedford Row Family Project believes that the best and most effective way to address the difficult issue of family involvement in crime and the inevitable subsequent involvement in imprisonment and all the distress that that entails is to facilitate responsible, compassionate, and caring people from the communities most affected by imprisonment to utilise their wisdom, insight, and strength to bring about long-term change in such families and ‘break the cycle’.

All training in the Project is designed to enable that long-term change.
The first run of the Course exceeded expectations and plans are already underway to repeat it in 2012. Recently, to this end, we were granted a significant sum of money by The Wheel to be the lead agency (of ten) to run a further Course in 2012-2013.
We are now actively seeking matching funding to make this dream come true!

Principal Elements

admin_larry — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:50:41 +0000

Emotional: The emotional elements of students’ experience were attended to so that graduates became confident and competent in dealing with the emotional dimension that, it is expected, will be an integral part of the day-to-day practice in the field.
Skills: Numerous skills were practiced constantly in order to equip graduates with the competences necessary to assist people to cope with unexpected situations, ease their distressing crises in life, and ultimately effect positive change.
Principles/Ethos: Awareness of societal/ethical issues is very important for any practitioners working in the field. A description of communitarian models of working with people, compassion, purpose of, what gets in the way of compassion were important elements. Power issues in society and in helping professions were also included.
Models/Methodologies of Therapeutic Intervention: Many different methodologies and therapies which have developed over the years which need to be applied in different situations were covered. Knowledge of these will enhance client safety through considerations of choice of language and dialogue, uniqueness of each encounter.
Educational: Subjects such as child development, child protection in families where criminality is prevalent, ‘the role of shame in growth’ vs. ‘toxic shame’, development of conscience, attachment theory, the phenomenon we call ADHD + other factors that impair normal development were all on the course.
Practical: Practical elements such as planning, estimating expenditure of money, report writing, filing, using modern technology to its optimum, following office procedures correctly, security, link between good office procedures and boundaries were covered.

What is being Achieved?

colmde — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:35:54 +0000

Significant alleviation of distress in what is usually a very distressing time.
Identification of difficult emotions such as guilt, shame and anger and utilisation of such emotions particularly anger in a positive way.
Building of confidence and self esteem, a sense of hope, and an ability to cope.
Very practical and direct support with issues such as inadequate housing, school placement, etc. etc.
Widening of horizons of parents to include an appreciation of what, in particular, children are experiencing.
Increase in relationship building skills to form and maintain relationships that are significant and nurturing.
Early assessment of needs so that appropriate and timely interventions can be offered in partner agencies if such are identified and appropriate.
Inculcation of a sense of belonging in Bedford Row Family Project.
Ongoing involvement in research and evaluation of how the Project is doing.

Introduction

colmde — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:34:22 +0000

Bedford Row is committed to ongoing training in Family Support and Crisis Intervention to give interested, enthusiastic and passionate people the skills necessary 1) to assist family members who experience the hurt of imprisonment, addiction and related factors, and 2) to assist parents – in particular young parents who may be from families that struggled with addiction and imprisonment in the past – to embrace their responsibilities and ‘break the cycle’.

The first Diploma in Family Support and Crisis Intervention was held from Sep 09 to Jun 11. We are most grateful to Limerick Regeneration Agencies, HSE West, and the RAPID Programme who believed in us to fund the initial training initiative. The first cohort of nine students graduated in Jul 2011. Five of these graduates now work in various capacities in Bedford Row, one works with Limerick City Drugs Intervention Initiative, one works with Limerick AD-HD Group, one works a Family Resource Worker in St. Munchin’s Parish, and another is progressing with further studies in psychotherapy.

As a direct result of this training our capacity to respond to families in distress has increased significantly. If you wish to know more please contact the Project at info@bedfordrow.ie

The courage that the initial participants on this course showed in putting themselves ‘out there’ was such that we now call this initiative ‘Misneach’, the Irish word for courage

Re-integration of People Who Have Been in Prison

admin_larry — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:22:20 +0000

“You wanna go straight, but something inside keeps pulling you back towards the prison gate”
20 year old who left prison
“I was lucky to meet a man that gave me a chance; took me on and trained me. I never looked back”
Limerick man who spent time in prison

Bedford Row has always met with ex-prisoners but now we have the happy situation that a part time staff member is dedicated to this important role. Over the past 6 months this work has developed well, exceeding initial expectations. Currently the work is existing on charitable donations and such has been its effect that we are now applying for funding to Limerick Regeneration Agency to mainstream the work.

Research

admin_larry — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:21:22 +0000

Bedford Row Family Project was set up following a survey of unmet needs in the Limerick area. Our landmark research is available on our Research link on this website. This is entitled ‘Voices of Families Affected by Imprisonment’. We are very grateful to all who contributed to this study for being open and honest in their accounts of the affects of imprisonment and are inspired by their courage to follow through with work that alleviate the distress of families of prisoners.
The findings of this Research have been used as a springboard for development of a variety of activities in the Project since publication in 2008.
The Project is currently beginning the process of external Evaluation of our work over the past 12 years. We are looking forward to this Evaluation and hope that it assists us in planning into the next decade.